Saturday, May 28, 2005

"Hello Mr. HeWhoTravels, Welcome to the Mercer. I'd like to tell you that we have downgraded your room for your stay." the clerk said with a friendly smile on his face. "What?" I said very politely. "Unfortunately we needed your loft suite so we need to downgrade your room for this stay. We are very sorry."

I'm not one to make a fuss, but seriously I had never been "downgraded" before. This was a first. I graciously took the smaller room and went to the lobby to people watch. I had a lovely time shopping in SOHO the next day. When I got back to the hotel, the clerk who had "downgraded" me earlier told me he had a surprise for me. He had taken the liberty to move my bags to the courtyard suite. He also handed me his card, Jose Estrada. Wow! I thought that was really nice.

The courtyard suite is a huge (by NY standards) suite that has french doors which open into the Mercer Courtyard.

It is a nice, modern, open design. I love the extra touch of the fresh flowers. These things define luxury as much as the space and furnishings.

Anyways, the Mercer did win me over in the end. And literally weeks later, I saw Mr. Estrada's name again. This time, it was in the paper and he was the apparent victim of a telephone battery by an Australian movie star with initials RC. Hmmm... I wonder if they downgraded him too!

About Me

I am a travel junkie in my thirties. I have gone to Paris in search of the perfect macaroon. I would go to Java just to stay at Amanjiwo. Any reviews I do make are unbiased and created for the benefit of my fellow travelers. My travel is unsponsored, I pay all my own expenses. My profile on Flyertalk is Ether.